Nidan : International Journal for Indian Studies

Nidan is an international journal which publishes contributions in the field of Hinduism, edited by Prof. P. Kumar (University of Kwa-Zulu Natal). Articles published in Nidan relate to any aspect of Hinduism. As such, the study of Hinduism is broadly conceived to include, not merely, the traditionally recognized areas within the discipline, but included contributions from scholars in other fields who seek to bring their particular worldviews and theories into dialogue with Hindu studies. For scholars of Hinduism in the Southern African region, Nidan is the only journal that has provided opportunities to publish their research. Many international scholars have also published in this journal over the years. Nidan has not only served the academic community, but also has been a useful reader for the community on various themes and topics on Hinduism and as such, it assisted in educating the community on their own traditions, practices and philosophies.

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This book is an in-depth and detailed description of the history of the diaspora of Hindus and Sikhs residing Australia. It addresses the varying lifeways, practices and beliefs of both Hinduism and Sikhism in a diasporic environment. Yet general reflections on the Indian Diaspora in Australia merge these two religious sects, with a tangential reflection upon Muslims, placed under the rubric 'Indian'. Such discussions create a platform for additional analyses and comparisons both within Australia and other diasporic communities globally. The book consists of a compilation of fifteen comprehensive and varying chapters authored by twelve scholars which contribute to a description of these communities.

The indentured Hindostanis survived the plantation life in this sparsely populated Dutch colony with abundant fertile land. Moreover, they capitalized on the opportunities offered by the Dutch Colonial Government which was very satisfied with these 'new colonists'. In fact the Hindostanis prospered in due time. The enormous population growth among the Hindostanis compared to British Caribbean colonies demonstrates this. Their (work) ethos, strong ethnic identity and cultural heritage and the opportunities in Suriname resulted in a success story.

The narrator and surgeon, Marion's words, "Where silk and steel fail, story must succeed" in commencing to tell the story of a wound that divides two brothers, could well be mimed and rhymed in "Where history fails to tell, story must succeed" as the novel Cutting for Stone spans Ethiopia, India and America and the lives of expatriates and transnational workers and their children in four continents across three generations. And in the process it also touches on a chapter of Ethiopia's modernity that awaits to be written, i.e., one that over a long period of time involves Indian doctors, teachers, merchants, traders, entrepreneurs, architects, artisans, nuns and priests from the orthodox church in Kerala.

This essay falls outside the genre of the usual scholarly and analytical paper or article. Here I wish to indulge my readers in a narrative, a story, that is somewhat fictionalised, albeit from real events that took place and chronicled in the journal (issued shortly after as a book in India in Hindi) of an itinerant Indian nationalist activist, the late Pandit Totaram Sanadhya (totarām sanāḍhya). Pandit Sanadhya happened to be returning from the colonised islands of Fiji in 1914, after his sojourn there of some twenty-one years among the Indian sugar-cane plantation indentured coolies. He was lured to the backwaters of the Empire deceitfully by British recruiters who he believed were taking him to the Caribbean. Beginning as a humble indentured labourer he rose to become a sardar or plantation overseer, while also servicing the subaltern Indian community as a bona fide paṇḍit: indeed, one of the few in the colony to have received the acclaim from the Indian community of being an 'ardent Ārya dharma lecturer and debater'. He was instrumental - in collaboration with C. F. Andrews - in bringing to an end the horrendous indenture labour system in the colonies (often dubbed as 'the second abolition') which since its inception had effectively replaced the erstwhile slavery system.

My discourse here is about the fictional portrayal of these amazing ancestors, showing what kind of people they were, what made them endure and eventually overcome the hardships they faced, and how they helped to shape us, their descendants. I do not wish to dwell too much more on the hurt, pain, and suffering of our hard-working ancestors, but more on their resilience, inner and outer toughness, their unbounded capacity and willingness to succeed against such intimidating odds.

As Nidān moves to become more broad-based journal of Indian Studies, in this issue we are including three papers that are based on fictional narratives to offer an insight into the history of the Indian diaspora.